Thomas l



(No Model.)

T. L. RANKIN. RBFRIGEBATING BUILD-ING.

Patented July 12,1881'.

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UNITED STATES PATENT rtree.

THOMAS Il. RANKIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE RANKIN IOE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

REFRlGERATlNG-BUILDING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 244,301, dated July 12, 1881..

Application filed May 5, 1881. (No model.)

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS L. RANKIN, of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigeratin g-Buildings; and I do hereby declare that the followingis afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

The objects of this invention are to increase the efficiency of the metallic cooling-pipes employed to circulate a liquid or gas in a-building for cooling the air therein, or in an icemachine for congealing the water to be converted into ice, and, as aconsequence of the increased efficiency of the pipes, to enable smaller pipes and a less quantity of the refrigerating liquid or gas to be used than heretofore in accomplishing the desired effect. In-

cidentally to the accomplishment of these objects there also results an economy of construction of systems of cooling-pipes and a reduction of waste by leakage, as a less number of joints are necessary in making returnbends, and said joints are smaller.

My invention consists in the combination, with the metallic coolingpipes, of metallic plates having extended surfaces and secured to the pipes in contact therewith,whereby the plates are deprived of their heat and present an extended frosting or cooling surface to the air or water in contact therewith. l

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section of a house provided with a system of cooling-pipes according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the house in a plane indicated by the line x, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates a modilication of the cooling-plates. Fig. 4 shows another modification of the plates, and Fig. 5 illustrates a modification of the means of attaching the plates to the pipes.

Referring to Figs. l and 2, the letterA designates a series of parallel iron pipes connected by return-bends, and each end pipe of the series connected with a pipe,]3,by which connection is made with the source of supply of the rei'rigerating liquid or gas. The series of pipes is composed of two sections, each of which is inclined downwardly to a point midway the chamber.

The letter C denotes the metallic coolingplates, which in these two gures are oblong and rectangular in shape, there being a plate for each straight parallel piece of the pipes of nearly equal length therewith. Each plate is arranged under and in contact with its pipe, and is secured thereto by straps D D D D, attached to its upper surface and passing around the pipe. Ihe plates of each section are inclined transversely downward to the center of the house, the edge of each plate overlapping the margin of the next lower, the inner edges ot' the two lowest plates terminating over a trough, E, arranged vto carry oft' the water of condensation which collects upon the platesurfaces and flows downward. In this arrangement the economy in pipe and refrigerating material, and the increased efiiciency of the pipes over pipes without plates, will be apparent. As the pipes are cooled by the circulation of the refrigerating material within them,

the plates are cooled by contact with the pipes,

and there is a cooling-surface thus presented to the air far in excess of that afforded by the pipes alone.

In Fig. 3, which represents a portion of a series ot' pipes with a modified i'orm of plates, the plates C are corrugated transversely, thus presenting within given limits a greater surface than is afforded by the iiat plates.

At the upper edge of the series ot' plates in Fig. 3 is arranged an overliow-trough, F, having the top of its front wall notched. In this trough I cause to How, by means of a suitable supply-pipe, a non -congealable brine, which trickles through the notches, falls upon the plates, andiiows down over them successively. Such plates are to be arranged in downwardlyconvergingsections,terminatngoveratrough, the same as in Figs. 1 and 2, the trough earrying off the brine as well as the water whichv is condensed from the air. The brine becomes cooled by the plates, absorbs and carries oii' unwholesome vapors, and thus greatly promotes the purification of the air.

In lieu of the rectangular plates, metallic disks C2 may be arranged concentrically upon the pipes, as seen in Fig. 4. With this form of plates the series of pipes may be all arranged in the same plane, as the water of condensation will flow down the surfaces of the disks.

In the modification of the plates shown in Fig. 5, the separate attaching-straps are dispensed with, and through the plates are parallel slits at a suitable distance apart, the narrow portion of the plates between said slits being bent outward from the main portion tok form straps D', under which the pipe A is passed. v

While l have now described and shown my invention as applied to the cooling of air, it is obvious th at the advantages derived therefrom would be the same were the plates placed in contact with water or any other liquid to be cooled or frozen.

l. The combination, with a metal coolingpipe employed for conveying a refrigeratin g liquid or gas, of one or more metallic plates having an extended surface, and secured to said pipe in contact therewith, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a metal coolingpipe employed to conduct a refrigeratin g liquid or gas, of a corrugated metallic plate secured broadside to said pipe, and in contact therewith, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. A system of metal cooling-pipes consisting of a 'series of llengths of pipe connected by bends, and each length provided with a metallic plate arranged below and incontact with it, substantially as described.

4. A system of cooling-pipes composed of a downwardly-oblique series of pipe-lengths, connected by return pipes or bends, and provided with underlying attached metallic plates arranged to shed water from one to another, substantially as described.

5. The combination, in a system of metal cooling-pipes, of the two downwardly-converging connected sections of parallel return-pipes, the lapping obliquely-arranged metallic plates connected to said pipes, and the trough arranged to receive the water shed from said plates, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a downwardly-inclined series of metal pipes, side by side, and connected by return-bends, of a series of underlying metallic plates connected to said pipes and arranged to shed water from one to another, and of an overflow trough arranged along the upper edge of said series of plates, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

ln testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS L. RANKlN.

Witnesses:

W. C. MGARTHUR, L. E. LocKE. 

